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Wikileaks' Julian Assange and the Ecuadorian embassy: a recap

Julian Assange held a press conference this morning from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In it, he announced that he was planning to leave the building he's been holed up in for two years "soon". Wired.co.uk has created a quick recap of why Assange sought political asylum in Ecuador in the first place, what he's been doing in the embassy, and what will happen when he leaves.

Who is Julian Assange?

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Julian Assange is the Australian activist and editor-in-chief of the website Wikileaks, which he co-founded in 2006. Wikileaks was set up to publish news leaks and classified information from anonymous sources. Some of the leaks became major headlines throughout the world, including a video showing a US helicopter attack in Iraq that killed two Reuters journalists, secret military reports about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and thousands of US diplomatic cables revealing sensitive information about foreign leaders and assessments of security threats.

Why is Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London?

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Because he was formally granted asylum in Ecuador. According to the Vienna Convention, although embassies are the sovereign territory of the country in which they are located [in this case, the United Kingdom], the local government agrees not to enter the embassy and there is diplomatic immunity protecting those working inside. Police cannot enter the embassy without the Ambassador's permission.

Why does Assange need asylum in the first place?

Because a Swedish court wants him extradited so he can answer questions about allegations made against him of rape and sexual molestation. In 2010, a European arrest warrant was issued, and Assange was taken into custody by British police. He was granted bail by the High Court, which required him to stay at his bail address between 10pm and 8am every night. After a lengthy legal battle involving multiple appeals to prevent the extradition, Assange ran out of options and applied for political asylum in Ecuador, fleeing to the Ecuadorian embassy in June 2012.

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Assange sought political asylum because he fears that if he goes back to Sweden to answer questions about this case, he'll be at risk of being extradited to the USA where he could face charges of espionage. However, as it stands, the US hasn't made an extradition request, so he's not technically wanted for political crimes.

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Assange has reportedly developed an irregular heartbeat, a chronic lung condition and high blood pressure. However, in the press conference this morning, he said that this "probably" wasn't why he was about to leave.

What will happen when he leaves?

He'll almost certainly be arrested by the British police who have been stationed outside the embassy since he sought asylum. He will then most likely be extradited to Sweden to be questioned over the allegations of rape and sexual assault in a Swedish court.

Will he then be extradited to the US?

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The US has not yet made an extradition request, but if it did, the case would be dealt with by an independent Swedish court. Sweden doesn't allow extradition when the offence is purely military or political, so the USA would have to charge him with a non-political crime (i.e. not espionage). Even if this was the case, if the court suspected that he'd face the death penalty then, under the European Court of Human Rights law, Sweden would not extradite him.

What happens if he manages to avoid arrest by the British police?

If he somehow manages to get into a diplomatic car and head to an airport, he's very likely to be stopped. UK police can't actually enter the diplomatic vehicle, but they can stop it and play a waiting game. Should he make it to an airport, he'd still have to go through security, where he could be detained. It's highly unlikely that he'd make it to a car without being arrested, though.